German Summer
by Ludwig's Alter Ego
Summary: Days after the official end of the Austro-Prussian war, a new proto-nation with blonde hair and blue eyes is born in a sweet summer field on a beautiful sunny day.  My take on the birth/creation of Ludwig.  Oneshot.


**Disclaimer:** _I don't own Hetalia or any of its characters._

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><p><em>August 26, 1866; a few days after the signing of the Peace of Prague<em>

_Somewhere in what will eventually be Germany...  
><em>

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><p>Warmth.<p>

That was the very first sensation the child spirit had; he was being bathed in something warm and indescribably pleasant that literally engulfed every part of him. Something with no weight and no form that was everywhere at once. Something with a pure, golden essence that flowed in a wonderfully sweet, gentle way.

It happened suddenly: a great explosion of sensory and consciousness. The Big Bang in miniature.

He could _feel_ more than just The Warmth now — something strong was pulling on him in an unfamiliar way; something harsh, cool, and corporeal was somehow touching him. All at once he felt connected to millions of living souls all bound together in a dancing, vibrant, ever-changing network of thought and energy that spanned an almost insignificantly tiny portion of "space" at a specific point in "time". It was like a billion volts of electricity coursing through his being: he was aware that each and every individual soul in this particular network — the small but marvelously lively, unique tapestry that was known as the North German Confederation — contributed something to him. He existed as a composite of them — a physical, now flesh-and-blood representation of the masses, every aspect of his human mind and body taken from the whole and blended together in a unique way which emphasized and over-represented some facets above others, because not all could fit into a single biological entity. But these "unused" portions remained just as much a part of him as any other, and they formed a brilliantly burning connection to his newborn soul, existing simultaneously both within and outside of it, as they too remain connected to every part of the network.

The child drew his first breath. Then he opened his eyes.

Light!

A blindingly luminous yellow-white ball blazed overhead in a boundless expanse of blue dotted with puffs of white. Its brilliance caused an unpleasant sensation in the boy's eyes, prompting him to bring a hand up to shield them and look away.

He was laying on his back with something firm beneath him. Pleasant, calming noises reached his ears. The lazy, warm air was perfumed with sweet fragrances.

In one swift movement he rolled over and pushed himself up onto his knees in a sitting position. There was _so much _out here! So many odd-looking things…their names came to him in a sudden massive flood of information that also encoded concepts and ideas as two languages simultaneously exploded into his mind.

The glowing ball was called "the sun", the puffs of white, "clouds", and the blue they were sitting in was "the sky". The yellow-green and yellow-brown strands around him were called "grass". Grass was a type of "plant", though he didn't really understand what it meant to be a "plant". The big brownish things poking out of the "ground" and reaching up to the sky with "branches" full of greenish "leaves" were called "trees"; they were also a type of plant. The all-pervading calming sounds turned out to be mainly the cheerful songs of birds and the rushing of water in a nearby river.

It was an epiphany of epic proportions: at only a few minutes old, the newborn proto-nation — who already had the physical body and appearance of a human child between the ages of 4 and 5 years old — had the basic knowledge to match. He glanced down at the back of his hands and arms, noting the way the sunlight ( which he now knew to be The Warmth he had first felt ) glowed on his fair skin.

_North German Confederation. Is that who I am?_

The question was rhetorical; deep down, in the core of his soul, he knew that yes, he _was_ the North German Confederation. With this recognition came recognition of the fact that he was definitely different from regular humans in ways that went beyond him simply being a…just what _was_ he, anyway?

A country?

_But I can't be, because I don't have a boss…or do I?_

Even at such a young age, the proto-nation understood that a boss/leader was one of the things he needed in order to be a true country. It was one of those things he just inherently _knew_.

_But I have people…I must be a half-country. Yeah. That's got to be it._

Satisfied that he had solved the mystery, little North German Confederation stood up. The magic that had created him had clothed him in a simple white blouse, underwear, and tan pants, nothing more. He dug his toes into the dirt and dry grass, savoring their texture and warmth.

Then an exciting thought took hold of him. _I wonder what I look like? _The next few minutes were spent examining as much of his body as he could, but try as he may, he could never see more than a few lochs and tufts of his hair at a time to determine if _all_ of if it was that wonderful yellow color, and the features of his face remained just as elusive to him as the color of his eyes.

Wait a moment. Water was reflective, wasn't it? Why, he could just go down to the river to have a look!

Burning with curiosity, the boy at once lit off in the direction of the river with a song in his heart and unbridled energy, his feet flying over the yellowed, somewhat crunchy grass.

Reaching the water, he balanced himself carefully on the edge of the riverbank and peered in. But the swiftly-flowing water was glass-clear, and instead of his reflection all he saw on the surface were a few insects. Below lay an entire other world full of finely-rounded rocks and pebbles, twigs, and mulched leaves.

_Wow! _Forgetting all about wanting to see his face, he extended a foot and touched his toes to the water. It felt so _cool_, and _wet_! His eyes sparkled with fascinated delight as the flowing water separated into two rivets around his foot. He longed to dash in and wade clear out to his stomach, but the river was too large for a small boy, and he was overcome with a feeling that, at least for now, he shouldn't.

There was so much to do, see, and explore!

Overwhelmed with awe, North German Confederation spent the next hour or so running around through the tall grass and weaving between trees, pouncing on insects, rushing at small animals, and generally frolicking about for the sheer joy of being alive.

By and by some of his energy wore off and his excitement wound down a few notches. For the first time, he realized he was hungry. He thought of the big, ripe apples growing on the trees that hugged either side of the big river. Those sure looked tasty. He could eat while he cooled off under the shade of the trees — perhaps even find a nice little shallow spot in the river where the current was not so strong and he could go for a refreshing swim.

Finding the densely-packed apple trees, climbing one, acquiring a pair of ripe, delicious apples proved to be easy tasks. However, in spite of the fact that he was sure that he had not wandered far from where he was born, the river was nowhere to be seen. Puzzled, the little proto-nation begin venturing deeper into the orchard where the trees grew higher and the shade thicker, taking generous bites out of one of the apples he held.

The river had been shaded on both sides by larger trees: of that he was certain. Walking on the beautifully sun-dappled forest floor, he listened for the familiar gurgle of water while he continued to much his apple.

That's when he heard it. At first it was faint, and he had a hard time discerning it from the breeze rustling through the leaves of the trees. But with every second that passed it grew louder and more distinct, until he was sure that something else was coming his way: something that walked with heavier steps than he was accustomed to hearing and had to be bigger than the squirrels, fowl, and rabbits he'd been scaring all day.

_Maybe it's a deer?_

He'd never seen one before, but he knew what they looked like. A deer walked on four legs and was covered in short, mostly brownish-red fur. They were harmless. At least, he thought they were harmless.

Movement ahead!

The young blonde dashed behind the nearest tree and peered around the side, more curious than anything else.

"_Deutsche Frauen, deutsche Treue, Deutscher Wein und deutscher Sang sollen in der…"_

A man's voice, singing!

North German Confederation's heart sped up; he almost dropped one of his apples.

_A human! _

The man was in sight now and rapidly approaching. North German Confederation's eyes followed him steadily as he moved between the trees. Apart from his cheery singing, the first thing he noticed about him was his adult height — which made him a bit of an intimidating figure — followed immediately by his style of dress, which involved a beautiful long, fancy blue jacket set off with golden buttons, a white belt tied around his waist, and black boots. His hair was white, and his complexion just a bit paler than North German Confederation's own. For all intents and purposes, he _looked_ like an important person.

But was he friend or foe?

"…_Welt behalten ihren alten schönen Klang, und zu edler Tat begeistern unser ganzes Leben lang." _

Blue Jacket sounded so happy humming German praises between chewing bites of bread. He was clearly in high spirits, and certainly _seemed_ approachable.

Well, he was going to see the boy any moment now anyway — North German Confederation decided he might as well try to make friends. It would be nice to have someone to talk to out here, someone who understood at least one of his languages.

_Wait for it…wait for it…_

Right when Blue Jacket was almost on top of him, he burst out in front of him without warning and held out his right hand, boldly offering his unbitten apple in a gesture of goodwill. "Want an apple?" he asked in a rush of German, lifting the fruit towards the adult's chest and praying he didn't look as nervous and awkward as he felt. Slowing his speech down a little, he added, "I like that song you were humming…does it have a name?"

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><p><strong>NOTE:<strong> This one-shot is actually my opening post in a thread on a roleplaying board where I wrote for Germany. It can stand alone, or you can read the full version To read the full version please visit the link in my author's profile. Thank you! :3


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